


They Say that Love is Art

by CrystalSacrifice



Category: Marvel
Genre: Consensual, Established Relationship, M/M, Messy, Smut, paint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 22:12:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9462377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalSacrifice/pseuds/CrystalSacrifice
Summary: Steve had only wanted to paint. He had gone out and bought everything he needed to make whatever he could dream up. Of course, Bucky had to come along with plans of his own and change the course of the day completely.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for @ask-winter-bucky and @askcaptain-america on tumblr, so this is representation of their versions of Steve and Buck. It started off as a joke, but then I actually ended up writing a whole one-off? Yea. Enjoy.

 

 Steve loved art; he always had. It had a way of calming him from the inside out. And even though he wasn’t the best artist, he liked to think he was decent. Bucky told him to give himself more credit, but Steve held himself to higher standards. He had to work if he wanted to be considered an artist. Biased comments from his boyfriend wouldn’t cut it. He wanted to be proud of his creations. At least, proud of more of them than he was now. So, he had gone out and bought a blank drop cloth of canvas about 7 by 9 feet in size. It was massive sure, but he wanted to challenge himself. He had moved the furniture in his room at the tower to give himself room to work. There was a painters tarp spread out over the floor and several large cans of paint sitting around the canvas They held a range of colors from black to electric blue, giving Steve all he could want to work with. Yet, he wasn't sure what he wanted to paint. He knew he wanted it to have soul; he wanted to leave a piece of himself on the canvas, he just didn't know  _ how.  _

The room to Steve’s door creaked as it opened, but he didn’t look up. He didn’t need to; he already knew who it was. “Hey, Buck.” The greeting was hurried and distracted, just words without meaning. Steve had said them out of habit, too focused on trying to decide what to paint to carry on a conversation. His blonde hair was tousled haphazardly from him running his hands through it one too many times; and his bottom lip was close to splitting due to how much he had been worrying it. He heard the sounds of Bucky tossing his shoes into his closet and padding over towards him, prompting him to mumble. “Don’t scuff the walls,” This earned Steve an overdramatic scoff and chuckle as the brunette came to sit behind him, wrapping his legs around his waist and settling his chin on his[Steve’s] shoulder.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Bucky teased, pressing his nose into the crook of Steve’s neck. “Mm. I missed you.”

“You went to lunch with Nat,” Steve tilted his head away, trying to escape the tickling feeling of Bucky’s stubble against his skin. Despite this action, a grin was worming it’s way across his face.

“Still missed you.” Bucky let his hands reach forward to take Steve’s, rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles. “What are you thinking ‘bout, doll? You look all focused. Not that I’m complaining, it’s cute.” He could feel the heat sweeping up Steve’s neck as he began to blush and let out a soft, breathy chuckle. 

Steve rolled his eyes at the laughter, playfully bumping back against Bucky’s chest to knock him off balance. “Shut it, jerk. I’m trying to think of something to paint.”

“You could always paint me?” Bucky’s voice held a teasing lilt as he moved to untangle himself from the American hero. “I can pose all nice and pretty.” He flipped his hair dramatically before falling prey to a fit of laughter. “Or not.” He walked around the canvas, looking at the varying paints; and stopped when he came by a can of pastel green, a chaotic grin taking over his face. “Hey, I wonder how this color would go with your skin tone? I’d been looking to buy you something as a present but I’d want it to be flattering.” Bucky dipped his whole hand in the paint, laughing as Steve’s eyes widened.

“James, don’t you dare!” 

“Oh calling me by my first name now? I almost feel like I’m getting in trouble.” Bucky’s voice sank down half an octave and he shimmied his shoulders slightly as he approached his boyfriend. He was feeling playful today and it was showing. Steve backed away from him, eyes glued to the paint dripping hand.

“Bucky, watch what you're doing!!” Light green splats of paint were forming a line on the canvas leading to the culprit.

“Oh shit, sorry.” Bucky paused his game to apologize, looking at the slight mess he had already made. “I’ll buy you a new one. But you could probably find a way to incorporate it.” Baby-blues flitted over to meet blue-greens, softening apologetically. The air between them was quiet and still until Steve let out a sigh. 

“It’s fine. You didn’t mean to do it. But I think it justifies you keeping  _ that- _ ” Steve pointed at his hand, “-away from me. Fair?” He watched as his boyfriend seemed to contemplate it, before realizing that the man was not deterred. Before he could move out of the way, Bucky had seated himself directly in Steve’s lap and grabbed his face with both hands. The initial cold of the paint was shocking enough to draw a small gasp, but it soon warmed up  “Goddamn, Buck.” Steve whispered, his eyes wide and his breathing slightly unsteady. “That was cold. And now I’ve got paint on my face. God, it’s right at the corner of my eye. You’re so lucky this is waterbased. Also non-toxic! James Buchanan Barnes, what if this had been toxic! I could have had to go to the hospital because you and your stupid idea of a game got paint in my eye! Why are you smiling? This isn’t funny!” Bucky rubbed his thumbs back and forth across Steve’s cheekbones, his lips stretched into a soft smile as he listened to the lecture. He pushed Steve’s hair back,-coating it in green- leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, trying his best not to laugh. 

“It’s kinda funny.” Bucky argued, biting his tongue softly before swiping it across his lips. “I mean, you aren’t hurt, so I think you’re over reacting just a bit, which makes it funny. C’mere.” He reached up with his clean hand, wiping the paint away from Steve’s eye. Bucky then moved his hand back to Steve’s other cheek, the cool metal pressing softly against his skin. 

“I’m not over reacting, James! I-” Steve was interrupted with a stern glare and scowl. He sighed in response and rolled his eyes. “What, Buck?”

“Stop calling me James. You’re calling me a name you  _ know _ I’m not going to react calmly to. Pavlovian theory or something.” Bucky’s gaze softened and his lips shifted to an expressionless line. “I just want to have some fun. Come on, Stevie. No one is hurt.” His hand left a trail of paint as he dragged it down to the back of Steve’s neck. The blonde’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and Bucky knew he had won. 

Steve was the one to instigate the kiss. He huffed out a quick  _ ‘Fine’ _ before grabbing Bucky by the waist and smashing their lips together. Bucky always seemed to know when he needed a little bit of fun. The kiss softened quickly, less of a one on one battle of teeth and tongues, and more of a soft dance between their lips. Steve jumped when he felt a thick, cold wetness against his neck and it took him a minute to realize that Bucky had grabbed more paint with his other hand. This time it was red. He joined the other man in laughing, letting the tension evaporate from inside him. “You little shit!” He quipped, knocking the man off of his lap and onto his back so he could reach for some paint of his own. His hand came back out of the can a deep purple; now he got to show Bucky how it felt. A handful of paint was pressed against Bucky’s chest, instantly seeping into the white fabric of his shirt and oozing over his skin. “ _ Oh no, _ looks like this shirt is ruined. It’s gonna have to go in the trash.” Steve’s tone feigned innocent as he tugged at the collar of the T-shirt. “Don’t make me rip it.” Bucky’s eyes sparked at the suggestion, causing Steve to chuckle. “Oh you’d like that though, wouldn’t you Buck? That’s too bad, because I couldn’t bring myself to do it even if I wanted to.” 

Bucky rolled his eyes and reached back above him, hoping he’d be able to reach more paint. Since Steve was hovering over him, he had very limited movement. Next thing he knew, Steve was holding his straying arm down and clucking his tongue. “Nah-uh-uh. You got me twice. It’s only fair.” He went to reach for some more paint, but Bucky was quicker. The man reached up with his green hand and pulled Steve down flat against him, wasting no time in attacking his neck with kisses. He scraped his teeth gently against the sensitive skin, taking Steve’s moment of weakness to escape his hold, push him off, and jump to his own feet. “Ha!” He shouted victoriously, punching upwards into the air.

“You’re playing dirty, Barnes” Steve grumbled, rubbing purple against his neck as his face began to flush.

“Is that new?” Bucky laughed, the sound deep and rumbling, before dipping a hand in blue paint and making his way back over to Steve. “Here I’ll make up for it.” He situated himself in the larger man’s lap once more, letting his hands slip under the fabric of his shirt. The gasps and small whimpers that Steve made were a priceless reward. “You’ve always been so sensitive to cold. You’d think people like us would be numb to it?” He let his hands explore Steve’s chest, leaving blue-green and red handprints in his wake. After seemingly disabling the man, Bucky moved to grab the hem of his shirt and slowly pull it up. “You’re gonna have to help me here, Stevie. Arms up.” He teasingly babied Steve, pulling his shirt over the top of his head in one swift movement.. “Ah that’s better, no?” 

“Shut. Up.” Steve growled, letting his previously closed eyes open.

“Make me.” Bucky threw back, chuckling as Steve took some black paint and smeared it across his lips.

“There. Done.” He let Bucky wipe his lips off on his shirt before tugging at the fabric. “Off.” His words were almost childishly demanding, but Bucky wasn’t going to say no. He leaned back so he had room to pull his t-shirt over his head, leaving him with only a purple paint stain to cover his chest. In the middle of the puddle was an imprint that resembled a hand, but it wasn’t as defined as the prints Bucky had left on Steve. Steve soon fixed that though, his hands leaving separate black and purple traces as they pulled Bucky closer by his hips. Bucky beamed and pressed a quick kiss against Steve’s jaw. 

It was one of his favorite things to do, kiss Steve. Not just on the lips though, Bucky would kiss him anywhere he got the chance. His favorite place was Steve’s neck, mainly because of the reactions it would pull from the other man. Fingers danced across his skin, leaving shivers in their wake. “Mm,” Bucky exhaled the small sound as his lips found Steve’s neck once more. He kissed his way up to Steve’s mouth, stopping only to scrape his teeth softly against Steve’s adam’s apple. He was quick enough to catch Steve’s lips mid-moan, sending a shiver down his own spine. Bucky’s fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his boyfriend’s neck, tugging slightly. Each sound that came from the blonde sent lightning bolts through his stomach. It was intoxicating. 

The hardness against the bottom of Bucky’s thigh was more than obvious, but he was choosing to ignore it. There would be a time for that, and it wasn’t quite here yet. He softly hushed Steve’s whining, brushing his knuckles against his cheek. “Be patient, doll.” Bucky grimaced at the dark feeling of hunger swirling up in his stomach. He wanted Steve, but he was making himself wait. 

He was making himself wait because he knew that if he did not he would be too ravenous. 

He could feel a beast tearing at his stomach and he did not want that thing to reach Steve. It left his skin so hot, he was sure that if given it’s way, it would burn them both. Yet still, desire is hard to snuff out. In the end, it always won. 

Bucky snaked a hand into Steve’s back pocket, ignoring his frown. “Forget the paint, Steve.” He grabbed Steve’s wallet from its place, leaving red fingerprints on the leather. He carefully shifted through the contents of the man’s wallet before finding what he was looking for. The wrappers crinkled as he pulled two condoms from the wallet, stifling a chuckle. “Steve, Stevie...Branded condoms? Really? And self branded condoms at that?” He held up the two squares, pointing to the two familiar red, white, and blue shields printed onto the packaging. 

Steve’s face went red, and he looked down. “I...They…..they both stand as symbols of protection?” 

Bucky couldn’t help himself; he snorted and pulled away from Steve, laughter bubbling from his lips. “I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry. But oh...oh that was a good one. Dumb, but just dumb enough to be funny.” He got to his feet, making his way over to Steve’s dresser. “Is the lube still over here, babe? I would use the paint, you know, out of convenience, but I don’t know if that’s actually safe. Which is why you’ll be wearing one of these.” He flicked a condom back in Steve’s direction, surprisingly calm about the whole situation. Though he was normally like that. If he was able to plan something like this, he was going to make sure they were both safe. “Don’t wanna get paint on your dick. That would probably be painful.” Bucky could feel Steve’s disgust from across the room. He had always been sensitive to vulgarity, and no matter how much Bucky tried to break that, it was a constant in his personality. 

It took some searching, but there was a half empty bottle of lube hiding in the back of Steve’s sock drawer. “I don’t even know why you bother hiding this anymore, babe.” Bucky marked, taking it back with him over to their canvas.

“Just because everyone knows we’re a thing does not mean I’m going to flaunt the fact that we’re having sex!” 

“But they know that too so-”

“James, don’t even start.”

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. “Okay, babe. That’s fine.” He leaned down to press a kiss to Steve’s jaw, humming softly. “I’m only teasing.” He sat himself behind the taller man, dipping his palms once more into paint before dragging his hands down the his chest.

“Fuck.” Steve sharply whispered, blowing out air. So much for a sensitivity to vulgarity.“You could have warned me.” The blonde had already stripped down so that he could put on the condom Bucky had provided, so when the brunettes cold, paint covered hands made it to his thighs, it was all the more intense. Steve whimpered softly and let his head lean back on Bucky’s shoulder, blue eyes fluttering with heavy lids. Bucky grinned, nipping and pulling at his boyfriend’s earlobe The breathless whimpers that came in response caused shivers to run up Bucky’s spine. He slipped his hands to Steve’s inner thighs, pausing to dance his cold fingers against the sensitive skin. The moans that slipped from the man’s mouth were thick and sweet, like honey. Silver fingers coated in red wrapped around the shaft of Steve’s hardness, tightening slightly as the man jumped. 

“That’s cold, Buck.” He whined, cracking his eyes open to watch Bucky’s face. Though that soon ended as Bucky buried his face in Steve’s neck, scraping at it with his teeth. It was a sensory overload on the blonde who panted and became complacent, his own hands dropping to the other soldiers legs. 

“You doing alright there, doll?” Bucky purred, slowly flicking his wrist forward, textured metal running up Steve’s length. He moaned breathily in response. No words, but those weren't needed. The man’s lidded eyes looked so blue glazed over in pleasure and all Bucky could think was, ‘ _ There are worse ways to die.’  _ “God, you’re so pretty.” Bucky rasped against Steve’s ear, meeting the man’s jerking hips with the motions of his hand. He had his own issues, his blue jeans starting to rub against his hyper-sensitive cock, but the man melting into a puddle at his fingertips was his top priority. It was bearable enough until Steve reached his own peak and pressed back into him.

“Fuck,  _ James _ .” The name fell from his mouth as if it were sacred. It took the fire that was building in Bucky’s chest and doused it in lighter fuel. Bucky groaned slightly, biting at the skin of Steve’s neck as he worked the blonde through his orgasm. A creamy heat began to leak out of the bottom of Steve’s condom onto his hand, but he didn't mind. It was a level of intimacy he was already used to. Soon, the super soldier had gone limp in Bucky’s arms, his breath coming in short pants. “Mm. Buck. fucking, nice.” He was slightly out of it, his orgasmic high blocking his ability to think. That, unfortunately, didn’t apply to him[Bucky]. He was still painfully hard and trapped both in a tight pair of jeans and under his boyfriend. 

“Stevie.” He whispered, tugging at his hair slightly as he ran his hands through it. “Fuck, Steve, you’ve got to give me something to work with or at least get up and let me go to the bathroom.  Instead of listening to the impatient demands of the former assassin, Steve pushed himself up to turn and kiss him. This drew a sigh from Bucky, the lips of his boyfriend a welcome release for his frustration. Steve pulled back and got to his feet, stumbling over to the bathroom where he disposed of his now-used condom. 

The lack of contact left Bucky feeling cold and uncomfortable. He glared up at the man as he returned, not stopping until Steve stopped down for another kiss. “Get me out of these damn pants.” He growled, leaning back on his arms as he was grabbed by the hips. His brown hair spilled around him on the floor where he had tilted his head back.

Steve’s fingers were cold against Bucky’s skin, each touch sending electricity racing straight to his crotch.  Skilled fingers hooked into belt buckles and snagged his jeans down quickly. Once they were tossed off into the corner, Steve let Bucky lay back on the canvas, trailing kisses up the length of his body until he once again reached his mouth, condom forgotten. He was practically laying on top of him, paint squelching softly between their bodies. “I’ve got you, Buck.” He murmured, pressing his face into the man’s soft hair. In response Bucky nodded feverently and twitched his hips upward slightly. 

Sensing his need for friction, Steve rolled his hips down; and Bucky hissed. “May I?” Steve asked, all sincere politeness despite the situation. Ever since Hydra, Bucky had been picky about positions. He topped. And if he didn’t, he took it from behind because Steve looming over him was too confining. He ended up feeling trapped and nervous rather than enjoying himself. So, being the king of chivalry that he was, Steve had taken to asking if it was okay for him to top the way they were. Sometimes the answer was yes, most of the time it was no, but right then, Bucky couldn’t seem to care. He just wanted relief. 

“Y-yea.  _ God, yes _ . Do whatever you want do-” Bucky was cut off by Steve’s mouth, grunting softly. Before he could even process it, cold fingers were pressing softly at the ring of muscle between his cheeks. He gasped, but Steve shushed him softly, petting his hair with his free hand in an attempt to soothe him. One finger, shocking, alien, cold. By the second, Bucky had already warmed up and was tingling from the inside out. He lolled his head back, biting his lip with a satisfied  _ mmph _ . Steve continued though, slowly stretching him out enough to add a third,and a fourth digit. Each addition caused the brunette to squirm and inch his legs farther apart. After a couple minutes of this, those long legs wrapped around Steve’s waist, tugging his hips down.

“Stop with the fucking teasing already.” The sight of Bucky laid out all pretty for him had been enough to get Steve going; but the growling command was what took him from half-hard to fully erect. 

“Yes, sir.” Steve mumbled, carefully lining their bodies up before pushing himself slowly in. Bucky hadn’t ever been the type to make a lot of noise, but the way he clenched his eyes and let his mouth hang in a soft sigh was enough to tell Steve that things were okay. He slowly pushed forward and pulled back, not even fully nestled inside the other man. He wanted to take his time. He pressed kisses to his head, his nose, his neck, his chest,and his lips became salty from the other man’s sweat. Steve then straightened a little as he bottomed out, the low, guttural groan coming from Bucky causing him to twitch. That was something he’d never heard before, and  he wasn’t even sure if it could be considered human. One thing was sure though, it was hot as all hell.

Steve quickened his own pace, quickly moving from gentle lovemaking to desperation. His stamina had already been depleted and he knew that having to wait so long had drained Bucky too. Bucky hooked his arms around Steve’s neck, hoisting himself up slightly so he could bite down on the man’s shoulder. Steve snapped his hips forward in response, his fingertips digging harder into Bucky’s hips. It wouldn’t be surprising if either of them ended up with bruises. A thick heat clung to the space between them, causing sweat to mix with paint on their skin. At one of Steve’s thrusts, Bucky suddenly gasped and began clawing at his shoulders. He was close, and had decided to make it painfully obvious. Steve nodded and moved a hand from Bucky’s hip to his dick. “That better, Buck?” Steve didn’t have to wait long for his answer, because with one small pull of his hand, ribbons of white were splashing against their chests. Bucky bit down hard on Steve’s shoulder and clenched up his whole body. 

“ _ Fuck me _ ” He spat, letting out soft groans with each of Steve’s stuttering thrusts.

“Working...onit” Steve grumbled back, his movements becoming more and more sporadic as he neared his second release. 

One

Two

Thr-

And then it hit him. A brick wall of ecstasy that made his vision go white. He continued to lay into Bucky, the faint sound of skin slapping against skin grounding him. Bucky let himself fall from Steve’s neck as warmth filled him, biting his bottom lip. The sensation was familiar, but at the same time oh so new. They stayed frozen like that for a moment until Steve was able to pull back with a soft  _ shlick _ and lay beside Bucky in the paint. He wrapped his arms around the brunette and pulled him close, running his fingers through his paint soaked hair. “Mm. That was….something, Barnes.”

Bucky ignored him, instead looking at the paint on the canvas around them. He couldn’t see the whole thing at the moment, but he recognized handprints, footprints, and what look suspiciously like a patchy shadow of the upper half of his own body. “You should hang this up.” He remarked drowsily.

Steve sputtered. “Excuse me,  _ what?!” _

“Hang this up. I don’t care if people know what it is.”

“Yea, well. I do.”

“We made it together. Come on, if any of them try to say anything you can just tell them it’s abstract.”

Bucky could feel the heat of Steve blushing, and so wasn’t surprised in the least when he changed the subject. “Whatever. How about we go get cleaned off?” Steve looked up to his bathroom door pointedly before looking back at Bucky with soft eyes.

“Yea, okay fine. But you’ve gotta go start the water.” Steve rolled his eyes at his best friend’s response, but complied. Before getting up, he pressed a kiss to Bucky’s nose,  and playfully nibbled at his earlobe.

“Thank you for the break. I needed it.” And then he was gone, padding off to the bathroom. The sound of the shower water spray reached Bucky’s ears, causing him to wonder what he ever did to deserve a man like that.


End file.
